Can you hear me now? Maybe
Cell service is still erratic in airport tunnel
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After withstanding years of unfulfilled promises and dropped phone conversations during the Big Dig, drivers were able to make their first cellphone calls from the depths of the Tip O'Neill Tunnel this week.
Turnpike officials and Globe reporters completed clear conversations from within the bowels of the tunnel yesterday, although a few midday calls were cut off by patches of static near entrance and exit ramps.
An official representing the cellphone companies responsible for wiring the tunnels under contract with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority say they are "getting close," but warned commuters not to expect regular and consistent service just yet.
Alan LeBovidge, executive director of the Turnpike Authority, called the project substantially complete and said he expects an official announcement within a week or two.
"We're at that final stage," LeBovidge said. "I'm happy, because if someone says, 'Can you hear me now?' I can say yes."
LeBovidge conceded that the impending freedom to hold limitless chats may be a mixed blessing. "I'm not advocating people talking on the phone while driving, but it's good, from a safety point of view, that the service is there," he said.
The tunnel's lingering no-call zone has been a persistent reminder of the $15 billion Big Dig's struggle to finish even the most basic projects on time. Cellphone service is a standard feature in most of the nation's major tunnels, including the Callahan, Sumner, and Ted Williams in Boston.
"I'm new to the area and I was getting directions and then the call dropped," said Kathy Burkett of Quincy. "It made a 20-minute drive almost an hour."
The installation delays - through a combination of stalled negotiations with cell companies, inattention to the project, and holdups with federal government approval - were so legendary that the Legislature became involved, at one point passing an act to require service within a year. That was in 2006.
After that, the cellphone companies took over responsibility for installation and were held up by a long federal approval process, hampered in part by design concerns raised by the 2006 ceiling collapse that killed Milena Del Valle of Jamaica Plain.
It has now been a year since the companies won federal approval. After missing an initial process to provide service within six months, they have declined to offer specific timelines. In the meantime, even some MBTA subway tunnels have become wired for cell calls and text messages.
"This is a very complex tunnel system, and those complexities make this type of build-out take time so we can do it right," said Mark J. Elliott, a spokesman for the consortium - AT&T,
Elliott said employees have been working fast since they began construction earlier this year. He said the system is not yet considered operational, but acknowledged that drivers can now get intermittent service.
When a Globe reporter called multiple times from the O'Neill tunnel yesterday, the signal remained strong during several lengthy conversations. But three calls were lost: just after the northbound entrance, by the Government Center exit from the northbound tunnel, and at the southbound exit of the tunnel that feeds directly onto Interstate 93.
Though delays were a source of frustration for the Turnpike Authority, the project will be a rare money-maker for the financially struggling agency.
The four cellphone companies signed a deal last year that required them to cover the estimated $7.6 million installation cost and pay a combined $1.6 million in upfront fees to the authority for the right to provide the service. The companies will also pay a combined $560,000 annual rights fee that will go up 2.5 percent every year.
Researchers concerned with the hazards of distracted driving are greeting the new service apprehensively. There have been no studies on how cellphone use affects drivers in tunnels, but some specialists say drivers who get too distracted will veer from their lanes in an area with little margin for error.
"Obviously, if there's an emergency, it will be reported much more quickly," said Donald L. Fisher, an engineer who runs the Human Performance Lab at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "On the other hand, we know that if drivers abuse the cellphone, either by text messaging or by focusing only on the conversation, it could lead to an increase in crashes."
Another researcher, Bryan Reimer of MIT, said driving in tunnels requires more concentration than in regular road conditions. After a year of service, he said, he would like to see a comparison of crash statistics before and after the installation.
Correspondent Jeannie M. Nuss contributed to this report. Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.
